Next Steps

More Detail

Don't we already have that?
Actually, we don't. Not really. What we sometimes hear called "early voting" is really in-person absentee voting. Early voting is different because, unlike in-person absentee voting, ballots are cast immediately - not put aside to be cast by a clerk on Election Day. With true early voting, the voter casts their own ballot into the ballot box or optical scanning machine when they vote before Election Day.

Who supports it?
This legislation has been supported by the League of Women Voters, the ACLU of Maine, the Disability Rights Center, the Maine Women's Coalition, Speaking Up for Us of Maine, and many others.

In its 2013 session, the The Maine Legislature narrowly rejected LD 156, a constitutional amendment to establish an option for for early voting. Similar legislation was considered again in 2015 and 2017, but because it requires a constitutional amendment, it requires 2/3 approval from both the House and the Senate. We have not yet been able to clear that high bar.

It's time for true Early Voting to come to Maine. Let's try again.

What can you do?
Stay tuned for opportunities to help when the legislature reconvenes.

More Background

For the last few years, voting rights have been under attack all around the country. But here in Maine we've fought back.

On February 5, 2013, the Commission to Study the Conduct of Elections in Maine released the report of its findings, and we're excited for a whole host of reasons. The Commission not only rejected voter ID, it also endorsed same-day voter registration and early voting! You can read the full report here.

Eight public hearings were held from August through November and members of the League of Women Voters attended every single one of them. Over and over again, Maine voters testified in opposition to voter ID and in support of same day voter registration and early voting. We worked tirelessly to publicize the hearings in local communities, and you responded.

As exciting as this news is, however, we do not agree with everything in the report, including a recommendation to tighten residency requirements for voting. This could discourage young people who attend college here from voting, and it continues a recent trend of attacks on student voting rights. We will work to forestall these proposals.

League Members Speak to the Commission

Read all of the Leagues testimony before the 2013 Commission to Study the Conduct of Elections in Maine here.